People we Look Up To.

I believe there’s a somebody everybody will look up to. This varies from person to person, but nonetheless, everyone looks up to their very own special someone. This specific someone may be a close relative or be an international artiste, but at the end of the day, they are all the same – they command our respect, hence we look up to them.

For many, it’d be their parents that they look up to. Rather cliche and common, this is mainly because their parents have made more sacrifices for them than anyone else and are usually the closest people to them than anyone else as well. For some others, it may be a pop star or even the president that they look up to, because these prominent figures probably can relate to them well, such an emo singer singing songs that can resonate with their hearts.

For others like me, the people who we look up to always changes. There is never a fixed person throughout our lives. This is because our goals changes from time to time, alongside our perspective, mentality and most importantly, our maturity. Hence, as kids we may look up to our parents, as teenagers we may look up to pop idols, but then as adults, we may once again look towards someone else.

While looking up towards others, there are also others who will look up towards us. As a leader of a class, your classmates are looking up towards you. As the manager of a restaurant, your waiters and waitresses are looking up towards you. Though you may not realize it most of the time, but it’s happening. At crucial times, it’s important to display the leadership bestowed upon you by your occupation. Such as in a mid-air crisis, a pilot has to keep calm in order for his passengers to remain calm as well to place their trust in him that he will get them out of whatever calamity they may be in.

What do humans look at before they decide someone commands their respect? This again differs from each individual. For a child, he may look up to his parents for they can do thing he cannot do yet. For a teenager, a teacher may command his respect because from his perspective, he has much to learn from his teacher still. But for most of us, we always look up to people who can do things we cannot do and at the same time we are not jealous of them. These people usually carry with them charisma, and lots of it. They may not be influential to everybody but they will definitely be influential to the people who look up to them.

There are many kinds of people in this world, and hence all our views will forever differ. But at the end of the day, the people we look up to will always steer our course in life and that will not change.

Marriages in Society

Marriages in society has always been governed by a set of rules and criteria. Some may be traditional, some may be forced upon by society itself. But in both cases, they are the clockwork behind the future generations.

Marriages in tradition for many cultures are always decided by the elders. Better known as arranged marriages, elders of two families come together and arrange for their kids to get married. Sometimes it’s done when their children are still young, while at times it’s when their children are at a ready age for marriage. Sometimes, like in the Japanese society, arranged marriage will still need the consent of the marrying couple. But in some other cases like in Yemen, women are just plainly forced to marry men that their parents have arranged, or more likely, sold to.

Marriage in today’s modern society has largely changed. In most cases, it’d be boy meets girl and lives happily ever after. However, many new ways of getting married have popped up. Trending ones such as dating agencies and as well as lunch dates have started catching on. Less happening ones such as bride-order agencies that arrange for you to get married with a woman from probably a third-world country for a sum of money is available as well. Due to technology’s advancement, strangers could also meet online and would end up as a happily married couple as well.

I’ve experienced such a real-life example recently. An acquaintance of mine got married recently and during his wedding dinner, a short video presentation of how he got to know his wife was broadcast. It started off as a game of Defense of the Ancients. Before they knew it, they had hit it off rather well and had added each other on online messaging applications to chat. And not long after, they are now happily married.

Marriage has since then changed largely from just a mere form of arrangement set by parents to something that technology can connect between two strangers.

Marriage in the very first was to ensure the continuity of humankind. In fact, I believe at that point of time it was just merely instincts to copulate and reproduce. Later on, during the ancient times, marriage was to create offsprings in order to carry on a family name or inherit a certain position. Despite that, these instincts have since evolved into emotions. Today, couples get married because of love. Because they choose to live life with each other, to enjoy each other’s feelings to the maximum. Reproduction nor inheritance is a key player in marriage anymore.

Since the ancient times, women as always regarded as the weaker gender. Hence, women would always be following behind the footsteps of men. If a woman’s husband ran a guesthouse, it’d be most likely that she would be helping out within the guest house. Women also expected to be able to live off their husbands, and their husbands likewise expect their wives to be dependable on them. However, this scene is rare in today’s modern society. Women are no longer dependable on their husbands and are very much independent. Many women nowadays have already carved out their own career of which may have no relation to their husband’s livelihoods. And likewise, many husbands today do not expect their wives to depend on them for household expenses or even financial support.

Marriages in society has never changed over time I would say. Instead, from the above examples I would say marriages in society has evolved over time. At the end of the day, marriages in society is still between a man and a woman and that has never changed. It has evolved with the advancement of technology as a catalyst and evolution of human intelligence.

Week 14

Week 14

Writing is rewriting.

Rewriting more than just editing.

It’s rethinking, reconceptualizing and approaching new things.

Re look: Character (s), Plot: structure, sequence of events – logical? Conflict? Obstacles?

Everyone should at least try and rewrite their stories 5 times.

You will never find out what is really in you until you write and rewrite.

This doesn’t mean just polishing phrases.

TIP: Study your story, see it with a new vision and changed values.

Write it afresh. Then maybe scrap it, start all over again – don’t be afraid to do this.

TIP: After this, then you can begin “polishing”.

Finding expressions with character, dialogue that has rhythm.

It may take 2 or more versions to bring out the full color of the characters or yourself.

Reflect on this: the inclination of the egoist is to get as much as he can but at the same time not to change.

The final draft.
Read with a fixed eye.
Re-read through your story carefully.
Focus on a particular aspect each time, ie. character, location, action, etc.
Ask yourself: “Is the protagonist ALWAYS the focus of the story?” “Is he/she doing anything or is everyone else always doing stuff around him/her?”
The chainsaw is your friend.
Now is the time to look at script economy.
Why have your reader dying to finish after 4 pages when they could be craving for more after 2?
Ask yourself: “Where do my scenes begin? Where do they end?” “Can six lines be said in three?” “Can I trim the fat? Can I cut the exposition? Can I tell it visually instead?”
Crank it up!
The stakes are high – can they be higher?
More to lose = More dramatic tension
Ask yourself: “Does everything matter enough? Can everything matter more?” (Does the situation matter enough to the characters? If it matters more to the characters, the characters will matter more to the audience.) “Am I giving my characters hell? Is it fun to see them squirm and satisfying enough when they get out of it?”

Revise your Story1st draft based on lecturer’s feedback.
Post it on the Discussion Board for 3 of your peers to comment.
I have to comment on 3 people’s script.
Remember:
Write in 3rd person / present tense
Use 12-pt Courier New / Single Spaced
No less than 1 page and no more than 2 pages.
Final Draft due week 15 in class.

Notes: Week 12

Storytelling Week 12

Interactive Location

Elements: People, surroundings…

What is a location? A physical place (created or real). The place in your story where events occur and characters interact.

May also represent the ‘villain’ in the story. What elements make the location interesting? E.g. geographical position, climate, rules (spoken and unspoken).

A setting and surrounding that interacts with the characters of the film by adding importance to their actions. An environment which impacts the action and heightens the stakes. Threat of being in the location. Impact of a newly introduced character / element.
Eg. Norma Rae

Lou Lou LIves Here, written and directed by Hazel. U.K.

Notes: Week 11

Review Exercise 3: Dialogue

Purpose of the Exercise:

We write best what we know well.

Dynamic action

<< Story is Action>>
Action encompasses any kind of movement, activity and interaction between the characters and also between the characters and their surroundings.
Talking about how one feels is not as powerful as illustrating why one feels the way they do through action.

<< Film is Behavior >>

Action is the manifestation of behavior.

The complexity of the human psyche and interaction is better understood when it is possible to watch the actions, nuances and reactions of the characters.

<< Dynamic Action >>

Has the potential to enrich the experience of the audience by heightening the stakes and increasing the tension.

The power of any story lies in the narrator’s ability to project a mental picture for the audience.

Purpose of the exercise:

Addresses the problem many newbies have to screenwriting:

How to convey visually any sense of inner conflict of emotion.

“
H:How was your work today? Any troublesome clients?

W:Nope. Everything was smooth sailing. I served 3 men today.

H:Did you remember to use protection?

W:Of course! I wouldn’t want to lose out!

H:Good to heard that. Pouring tea isn’t so easy after all. You can scald you hand easily.

W:So how is it being erected?

H:We are using cranes to pull up the- SUSAN!?

W:Pull up the Susan?

W: Who is Susan and what are you doing?

H:N-N-Nothing at all.

W:Stop acting weird.
“

Exercise: Translating emotional responses into actions. Scenarios:

Notes: Week 8

Elements of dialogue Dialogue reveals character A character will talk about himself and other people will talk about him. Dialogue establishes relationships between characters. Once you have established your main character’s POV, you can use dialogue with other characters to show that they have other attitudes, creating opposite/alternative POVs. This helps to create and sustain the element of CONFLICT between characters. Good effective dialogue will move the story forward. Dialogue communicates facts and information to the audience? It conveys essential exposition. Characters will talk about what happened, establishing the storyline. Dialogue comments on the action. Dialogue ties the script together. It is one of the devices that YOU as a writer can use to expand and enlarge your characters. “If you can see it or hear it, don’t write it.” Dialogue should be used sparingly. Never tell the audience what they can see for themselves! Dialogue is no substitute for action. In hollywood, when they look at a page and it’s got too much black, too much ink they call it “Shit it’s freeze the camera shot!” Common mistake: Students sometimes never achieve a level of competence as they tend to reproduce conventional spoken language, long statements of “real talking” and defend their decision by telling us that: “IT’S HOW THE CHARACTER SPEAKS.” Good dialogue is not somebody’s ability to write authentic speech as heard in real life. If that was all there is to it, you and just push a button on the tape recorder and then go collect your Oscar. Good dialogue is the illusion of reality. You’ve got to know how to edit what people say without losing any of the spirit. Common mistake: Students tend to create radio shows with images. Films is a visual medium! A screenplay is a story told in pictures. The scenario: A middle-aged man returns home from work. He had stopped for a few drinks with his friends and forgot to phone his wife to tell her he’ll be late. The dinner is ruined. The exercise: Husband and Wife are your own parents. Get two people to read the dialogue. Record the reading and post it to your blog using youtube. Less than 5 mins. Submit by the 25th of June, 10am. (Post on Dialogue Exercise). Post notes from week 1 to week 8.

Notes: Week 7

Exercise: True and false Stories

Purpose of the exercise:
True life stories do not offer neat and relevant endings.
Life is unpredictable.
In a story, we can and must control the events and sequences so that it gives the appearance of being like life.

Characterization: Defining the Character

Every story story starts with a character.
The character is the heart, the soul and the nervous system.
It is through your characters that the viewers experience emotions.

Without a character, there is no action. Without action you have no conflict. Without conflict you have no story. Without a story, you have no screenplay.

When developing a character, ask yourself:
Who is your character? What does he want? What is his quest? What drives him to the resolution of the story?

Establish your main character.
Characters should have a 3 dimensional structure.
Physiology – Sex, Age, Height & Weight, Color of hair eyes & skin, Posture, Appearance, Defects abnormalities deformities birth marks diseases.
Sociology – Class (lower, middle and upper). Occupation: type of work, hours of work, income, condition of work, attitude towards organization, suitability for work. Education: amount, kind of schools, marks, favorite subjects, poorest subjects, aptitudes. Home life: parents living, earning power, orphan, parents separated / divorced, parents’ habits, parents’ mental development, parents’ vices, neglect, character’s marital status. Religion, race, nationality. Place in the community; leader among friends, clubs, sports. Political affiliations. Amusements: hobbies, books, newspapers, magazines he / she reads.
Psychology – Sex life, moral standards, personal premise, ambition, frustrations, chief disappointments, temperament: choleric, easy-going, pessimistic, optimistic,  Attitude towards life: resigned, militant, defeatist, Complexes, obsessions, inhibitions, superstitions, phobias. Personality: extrovert, introvert. Abilities: language, talents. Qualities: Imagination, judgement, taste, poise, Intelligent quotient. What is the deep and personal secret this character has which he is desperate to protect / hide?

Developing characters
>> Interior
The interior life takes place from birth until the moment you story begins.
It is a process that forms your character. When you start formulating your character from birth, you see your character build in body and form.
How old is he when the story begins?
Where does he live?
Does he have siblings?
What kind of childhood did he have?
What was his relationship to his parents?
What kind of child was he?

>>Exterior
The exterior life takes place the moment your story begins to it’s conclusion.
It is a process that reveals character.
Who are they and what do they do?
Are they sad or happy with their life
Do they wish their life was different? Another job. Another wife?

You must create your characters in relationship to other people or things.

All dramatic characters interact in three ways:
They experience conflict in achieving their dramatic need. Eg. Need money – Rob a bank, store or person.
They interact with other characters. Either in an antagonistic, friendly or indifferent way.
They interact with themselves.

Developing characters:
How do you invent characters? Try turning them upside down.
A monk who is devoted to his religion but is a football fanatic.
A serial killer whose obsession is to kill other serial killers.
A common street rat who loves to eat and cook only fine food.

Review:
3 storytelling tools
Memory
Observation
Experience

Aristotle’s storytelling techniques